Non-oxidizing annealing-furnace.



B. S. DAVIS.

NON-OXIDIZING ANNBALING FURNACE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 4, 1909.

1,052,574. Patented Feb. 11, 1913.

2 SHEETSSHEBT 1.

Witnesses: 1 w wm.

E. S. DAVIS.

NON-OXIDIZING ANNEALING FURNACE.

APPLIGATION FILED MAY 4, 1909.

1,052,574. Patented Feb 11,1913.

2 SHEETS-SHBET 2.

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EDWARD S. DAVIS, 01' JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO ROCKWELL FURNACE I COMPANY, A CORPORATION on NEW .YORK.

NON-OXIDIZING HEALING-FURNACE.

Application filed May 4, 1909. Serial No. 493,790.

To all 'u'hom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, EDWARD S. DAVIS, a

citizen of .the United States, and a resident 5 throughout.

of Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New leISQLhaVe invented certain new and useful Improvements in NOI1OX1-\ dizing Annealing-Furnaces, of which the following is a specification. My invention relates to improvements in non-oxidizing annealing furnaces.

The main object of my invention is to prevent oxidation ofthe objects under treatment. I accomplish this object preferably by providing the furnace with an annealing chamber which is closed to the heat products in the furnace and which is likewise closed against the entrance of any air or gas from outside the furnace.

In its preferred form the annealing chamher is in the shape of a continuous tubular member which extends the full length of the furnace and is provided With end extensions projecting beyond the ends of. the furnace. The material or objects under treatment is fed into the annealing chamber through the end extensions thereof and as a means for sealing the ends of the chamber I preferably support a sealing edium in sealing engagement with the en s of the annealing chamber. For this reason the ends of the annealing chamber are preferably inclined downwardly so as to dip into suitable tanks located at the ends of the furnace.

The furnace is designed particularly for treating wire and strip material.

Another object of the invention is'to prevent the material under treatment from be-' coming injured, as by being bruised or cut during its entrance into or passage through the furnace. F or this reason means areprcferably provided for guiding the material through the annealing chamber and for supporting the material out of contact-with the walls of the chamber. These guiding means would preferably take the form of suitable guide rolls arranged adjacent the ends of the chamber, and guide rolls will also preferably be mounted at suitable points within the chamber.

By reason of the closed condition of the annealing chamber the material in the chamber receives its heat wholly by radiation from the walls of the chamber so that in this way'the material is heated in an even degree To provide for the even heating of the annealing-chamber, the said chamher is preferably supported within the heatmg chamber of the furnace so as to be en,-

tirely surrounded by the heat products or gases of combustion.

As a means for observing the heating of the annealing chamber I preferably provide peep-holes or sight openings at the ends of the furnace which may be closed by suitable flaps, and these sight openings preferably flare inwardly so that the full length of the annealing chamber is within sight.

The furnace is preferably provided with two annealingchambers arranged in parallel relation but of course one or a number of chambers may be used as'desired, according to the desired capacity of the furnace.

In order to permit ready access to the interior of the annealing chambers, the end extensions of the chambers are preferably provided with a man-hole opening andLcover plate, in alinement with the main or body portion of the chamber.

While the furnace is intended particularly for use in the treatment of strip material, it is of course not limited to this particular use and may be used wherever desirable or practicable.

In the accompanying drawings is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the inven tion but various changes in the construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. I I

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the invention in its preferred form, one of the sealing tanks at the ends of the furnace being broken away. Fig. 2 is a broken horizontal sectional view of the furnace, that part to theleft in the figure being taken on a line-through the combustion chamber, and that part to the right in the figure being on a line through the heating chamber of the furnace.- Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the furnace taken on different planes, as indicated by the broken line, partly through the burner opening and partly through the exit flues.

Like reference characters indicate similar Darts throughout the several views.

The furnace body 1 is preferably provided-with a combustion chamber 2 in its upper portion and a heating chamber 3 in its lower portion, the two chambers being separated. by an arch or wall t provided with openings or perforations therein, for the passage of heat products from one chamber to the other. The burners 6 may be of any desired construction and are preferably of the oil or gaseous fuel type. The burners discharge in the combustion chamber through an inlet opening 7, and a pier or baffle plate 8 is preferably arranged in line with the this tubular member is preferably flattened in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 3. The size and shape of the annealing chamber may vary to suit requirements and the furnace may of course have any desired number of such chambers. The annealing chambers illustrated in the drawings are designed to accommodate flat strip material. or, wire, and for handling more bulky material the shape ofthe chamber might. vary accordingly. i

For the purpose of sealing the annealing ends of the chamber against the entrance of air or oxygen, the ends of the chamber are preferably provided with downwardly inclined end portions which project beyond the ends of the furnace and dip into tanks containing a suitable sealing medium. These end extensions are preferably in the shape of separable end portions 11 which may be secured to the body portion of the annealing chamber by any suitable means, such as a flange joint12. The lower end or mouth of the end portion of the tubular member or chamber is preferably sheared off at an angle 13 parallel to the level of the sealing medium 14 in the tank 15. These tanks containing the sealing medium are arranged at the ends of the furnace. and are provided with suitable piping 16 for the supplv and exhaust of the sealing medium. I find that water serves for all ordinary purposes as a sealing medium but of course other material might be used for this purpose. lnorder to guide the material under treatment to and from the'annealing chamberfsuitable guidat chamber, the number of the rolls varying The annealing chamber is preferably in the form of a continuous straightftubular' member having inclined end portlons, and

ing means such as guide rolls 17 are prefer-- according to .the' size of the chamber. One of such'guide rolls is preferably journaled in each of the end portions of the annealing chamber adjacent the end of the straight body portion of the chamber, with its upper supporting edge on a line with the approximate center of the chamber, and one of the external guide rolls is preferably journaled with its lower or bearing surface on'a line with the center of the mouth of the chamber so that the material would be fed on a straight line between the guide rolls without coming into contact with the mouth of the chamber, as indicated by the line A B 'in Fig. 1. This arrangement of the rolls prevents the material from coming in contact with the mouth of the annealing chamber and becoming scratched or injured during the 'feeding operation.

Openings-20 are preferably provided in the end portions of the" annealing chamber in alinement with the bore or passage in the chamber, for cleaning it or for other purposes, the openings being closed by suitable man-hole cover plates 21. r j

In order that the heating of the annealing chamber may be observed at any time, sight openings or peep-holes 22 are providedin the end walls of the furnace, preferably directly above the annealing chamber or chain bers, and these sight openings preferably open inward into the furnace on flaring angles 23. Suitable slides 24: cover the" sight openings when not in use. 'By, reason of the downwardly and outward flare given to the sight openings, the full length and width of the annealing chamber may readily be observed. The inner ends of the sight openings aie substantially triangular in shape, as shown in Fig. 3.

In operation, the strips or other objects or. material are fed overand su ported by theguiding means, and the gui ing means are preferably so arranged as to holdthe material out the annealing chamber, as indicated in the dotted line in .1. Heat is thus imparted to the material wholly by radiation from the walls of the annealing-chamber an even degree of heat throughout its length. As the annealing chamber is of continuous unbroken length none of the gases or products of combustion can come'in contlie material while in the furnace is wholly prevented. The oxidation of the material while entering or leaving the annealing chamber is prevented by means of the sealceives a certain. amount of heat from the furnace, the material is not cooled too rap idly. By" making the end portions, of the chamber of different length the rate of cool of contact with the walls of 1 so that in this manner the material receives tact with the material, so that oxidation of 12a ing medium and as the sealing medium reing the material could be regulated to any terial suddenly, the temperature of the cooling medium would be re lated accordingly.- The heat productsa er passing down through the perforated arch circulate around the annealing chamber or chambers and then escape by way of the exit fiues 24 and vents in the top of the furnace which may be closed more or less by closures 25 to regulate the degree of heat. These exit fluesf are arranged to one side of the inlet openings as shown in Fig. 2, so as not to interfere with the action of the burner or burners.

The-exit fiues 24 bein dis osed at -dif-- ferent poi-ntslongitu dina ly'o the furnace,

it will be obvious that by controlling the escape from the different flues, the heating of the different portions of the furnace may be controlled accordingly. 1 For instance in the case shown in Fig. 2, in which case the exit flues are arranged'near the opposite ends of' the furnace, b closing the exit flues at one end the pro nets of combustion will be caused to travel toward the other end of the furnace in order toescape, and

hence will heat such opposite end to a higher degree than the end where the tines are closed. By manipulating the closures to the exits in this way the heating of the different portions'ofthe furnace may be governed at will.

What is claimed, is: 4

1. A non-oxidizing annealing furnace comprising a furnace body,'an arched Wall within the furnace bodydividing the same into an "upper combustion chamber and a lower heating chamber,the said wall having openings. therein to permit passage of the products of combustion'from the combustion chamber down into the heating chamber, and the combustion chamber aforesaid having an arched ceiling, the side wall of the furnace body having a burner opening therein leading into the side of the combustion chamber, a burner discharging into said burner'opegning, a baflie located in the combustion chamber in substantial alinement with the burner opening so as to direct the incoming products of combustion upward against the arched ceiling of the combustion chamber, whereby the arched ceiling will react to direct the products of combustion down through the openings in v the arched wall into the heating chamber;

bustion chamber in the upper partand a' heating chamber in the lower part thereof, a perforated arch between the -:two chambers, a closed annealing chamber or chambers within the heating chamber, piers supporting the annealing chambers so as to permit circulation of the products of combustion completely around said chambers exit flues leading from the bottom of the heating chamber to the top of the furnace, and closures for said exit fiues.

3. A non-oxidizing annealing furnace comprising a furnace body, an arched Wall dividing the interior of the furnace body into an upper combustion chamber and a lower heating chamber and provided with openings therein to permit passage of'the products of combustion from the combustion chamber down into the heating chamber, the combustion chamber aforesaid having an arched ceiling, the side wall of the furnace body having burner openings therein leading direct into the side of the combustion chamber, baflies supported on the arched wall and disposed in substantial alinement with the burner openings to direct the incomingvblasts from'the burners up against the arched roof of the combustion chamber whereby said arched roof will direct the products of combustion down through the openings in the arched wall into the heating chamber, piers rising from the floor of the heating chamber, closed annealing chambers supported on said piers above the floor of the heating chamber so as to be surrounded by the products ofcombustion, exit fiues extending laterally from the floor of the heating chamber and thence up through the side walls of furnace body to the" top of the furnace, and closures for the said exit 4. A furnace having a combustion chamber in the upper part and a heating chamber in the lower part thereof, a perforatd disposed wall separating thetwo chambers,

va burner or burners,d1scharging into the I combustion chamber, exit flues leading from the bottom of the heating chamber up through the top of the furnace, said exit fiues being disposed at different points longitudinaliy of the furnace, and closures for the exit fiues,-said closures being independently operable whereby the heat at differentpoints in the length of the furnace may'be (amt-rolled at will.

5. An annealing furnace naving a combustion chamber in the upper part and a heating chamber in the lower, part thereof, a perforated wall separating the two chambers, a burner or burners discharging into E the combustion chamber, a closed annealing chamber or chambers within the heating chamber, piers supporting said chamber or chambers away from the walls of the heat--. ing chamber to permit circulation of the products of combustion completely around said chamber or chambers, exit flues leading from the-bottom of the heating chamber up through the top of the furnace, said exit flues being disposed at differentpoints longitudinally of the furnace, and closures for the exit fines, said closures being independently operable whereby the heat at different points in the length of the furnace may be controlled at will;

6. In a furnace, a furnace body, a perforated arch dividing the-interior of the furnace body into an upper combustion chamber'and a lower-heating chamber, a ,burner or burners discharging into the combustion chaniben'exit flues near the opposite ends of the furnace-body extending from the bottom of the heating chamber up through the top of the furnace body,- and independently movable closures to the exit flues at the opposite ends of the furnace, whereby the heat at the different ends of the furnace" may be governed by manipulating the closures'to the exit flues- 7.- In an annealing furnace, a furnace body, a perforated arch dividing the interior of the furnace body into an upper combustion chamber and a lower heating chamber, a burner or burners discharging into the combustion chamber, a closed annealing chamber or chambers in the heating chamber, piers supporting the annealing chamber or chambers out of contact with the walls of the heating chamber to permit circulation of the products of combustion therearound, exit flues near the opposite ends of the furnace body extending from the bottom.

of New 2nd day of March, A. D. 1909.

of the heating chamber up through thetop of the furnace body, and independently movable closures to the exit fiues at opposite ends of the furnace, whereby the heat at the different ends of the furnace may be governed by manipulating the closures to the exit fiues.

8. A non-oxidizing annealing furnace comprising, a furnace body, an arch extending between'the side walls of the furnace body, thereby dividing the interior ofv the furnace body into-a lower heating chamber and a combustion chamber above the heating chamber, the said arch having openings therein to permit passage of products of combustion from the combustion chamber down into the heating chamber, the combustion chamber having a burner opening in the side of the same, a burner dischargingin through said burner opening, a

closed annealing chamber extending through the heating chamber, piers supporting the annealing chamber above the floor of the heating chamber to permit circulation of products of combustion therearound, exit fiues extendin' from the floor of the heat-ing chamber up '0 rough the walls of the furnace body, and closures controlling the said exit flues.

Signed at New York city, in the county York and State of New York, this EDWARD s. DAVIS.

Witnesses: I

PHILIP S. MGLEA'N, DAVID GRANT. 

